Turkey's Jews Prosper Among Moslem Majority

Turkey's Jews have had good relations with most Moslem Turks for years, and the government has stressed that Jews enjoy full rights and citizenship.

But Saturday, with the attack on an Istanbul synagogue, the violence of the Middle East spilled into their lives.

By their own estimates, there are about 22,000 Turkish Jews, most of them living in Istanbul. They have generally prospered in business and the arts. There are 15 synagogues in Istanbul, 10 of which hold regular services.

Descendants of Sephardic Jews who arrived from Spain nearly five centuries ago, Turkey's Jews have dwindled in number in recent years. Many have gone abroad, largely to Israel, because they feel they have no future in the largely Moslem country.

While there are no discriminatory laws against Jewish citizens, in practice they cannot reach the top in administration, the professions or the military. At the same time, Turkey, in need of oil and wider markets, has moved closer to the Arab world in recent years. The country is a member of the Islamic Conference Organization and has been strongly critical of Israel on the Palestinian issue.

In 1981 the government in Ankara granted the Palestine Liberation Organization diplomatic status and reduced the level of diplomatic relations with Israel to that of second secretary, but it has resisted Arab pressure to break them off entirely.

Americans who have visited Turkey recently spoke of a mood of optimism among Turkish Jews, based on the country's industrial development. They said Jews reported no overt signs of anti-Semitism and said the government was trying to be evenhanded toward its Jewish citizens.

''We found the Jewish community in a very upbeat mood, with a sense of well-being,'' said Henry Siegman, executive director of the American Jewish Congress. In July he was a member of the first formal delegation to visit Turkish Jews in Istanbul at the invitation of the chief rabbi.

Turkish Jews appeared ''prosperous and proud'' of their Jewish origins, Siegman said. They stressed that security and human rights had improved vastly in Turkey in recent years, he said, ''but you couldn't help sensing a certain strain rising from the consciousness of the volatility of the course of Jewish history.''

In the chaos of the late 1970s, Jewish leaders spoke privately of their concern over the rise of Islamic militancy in Turkey. But those fears have largely dissipated since the military took power in September 1980. Although Jewish emigration, particularly among young people, has continued, those who remain are generally prosperous and pride themselves on being the most integrated non-Moslem group in the overwhelmingly Moslem country.

The Ottoman sultans opened the country to Jews fleeing the Inquisition in the 15th century. Many Turkish Jews still speak Ladino, a medieval Spanish with elements of Hebrew, in their homes.

Istanbul was one of the most important Jewish centers in the world in the 16th century, with Jews holding important positions in banking, commerce, medicine and the crafts. There were 200,000 Jews in Turkey at the end of the 19th century.

When Kemal Ataturk established a secular republic in 1923, the Jews, unlike Greeks and Armenians, chose Turkish citizenship. But as the years went by, Jews no longer held the high administrative posts they had under the empire, and many emigrated.

Preserving a tradition of tolerance, the Turkish leadership provided refuge to Jews fleeing Nazi Germany, and many became Turkish citizens.